KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY / WILLIAMSPORT SUN-GAZETTE Scranton Prep’s Luke Johnson and Loyalsock’s Gerald Ross go for the ball in the end zone at Williamsport High School on Friday in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A playoffs.

But when Loyalsock got the ball back at its own 17 with 2:56 left, Cavaliers defensive back Brayden McAllister kept Prep’s perfect season intact, snagging the fourth interception of the game, and his second.

“It was an unbelievable feeling,” McAllister said. “We played our hearts out and came out on top. I made a play when it was my turn to make a play.”

When Matt Gilmartin picked up a first down with 1:03 left to cap a 194-yard effort, Prep (13-0) could finally take a breath and prepare for next weekend’s quarterfinal against Middletown, a rematch from a year ago.

“Four interceptions, I’d have thought it would have been a little bigger gap,” Prep coach Terry Gallagher said. “But the most important thing is to win the game and move on. We’re lucky.”

Prep struck first when Ivan Balavage bolted 37 yards up the middle just 2:38 in, but Loyalsock (8-5) answered when Watkins directed a 12-play, 70-yard march, capped by the first of three short touchdowns by tailback Cole Cavanaugh.

Alec Buttner gave his team the lead again when he connected on a 21-yard field goal, and Carter Odell made a spectacular diving interception at the Lancers 40, setting up Prep’s second touchdown.

“I think it gave our secondary a lot of confidence to know that our guys up front would do the job and we’d have the opportunity to make plays in the secondary,” Odell said. “We knew all week the quarterback likes to scramble and buy time. I just had to keep my discipline, my eyes locked on my receiver, and I just saw the opportunity and I took it.”

Quarterback Leo O’Boyle turned the pick into points when he sneaked in from a yard out to make it 17-7 with 9:07 left in the half.

Again, Watkins guided Loyalsock with his legs and his arm, scrambling 15 yards on one play, then firing a 13-yard strike to Jaiden Cioffi between two defenders to set up another Cavanaugh score.

Prep had a chance to up the lead, but Hunter Webb picked off O’Boyle on fourth-and-goal in the last 10 seconds of the half, and the Lancers rode the momentum of the stop, taking the lead just five plays into the third quarter.

Watkins completed a pair of 37-yard passes to set up Cavanaugh from 3 yards out, and Loyalsock had its only lead, 21-17.

It lasted less than a minute. Gilmartin shed a tackle in the backfield for a 7-yard gain on first down, then bolted 48 yards to retake the lead, 24-21, with 9:32 left.

Loyalsock looked to be driving to go back on top, but McAllister made his first interception, laying out to snare Watkins’ throw at the Cavaliers 8.

“We were backed up in our territory and I had to make a play,” McAllister said. “I did it for my teammates and it put us in a good position.

“I made my drop and I saw the quarterback’s eyes. I ran out to the flat and made the pick. It was a sensational feeling. I do it for my teammates and my coaches. They put all this work in. I want to show them I can do it, too.”

O’Boyle followed McAllister’s play with a big one on offense, faking to Gilmartin, then keeping on the read option. He broke a tackle at the 20 and the footrace was no contest as the 6-foot-7 junior ran away from the pursuit on a 92-yard sprint to make it 31-21.

“We came out at halftime knowing that every time, I had given it to Matthew,” O’Boyle said. “But their end bit a little the last time we ran it. I saw him cheat a little bit and I just kept it. Lucas (Stage) blocked for me and it was wide open.

“It’s definitely a moment like, ‘please don’t trip.’ I just kept running as fast as I could. By the time I got to the end zone, I was out of breath completely.”

It took a lot of the air from Loyalsock, too, but despite the interceptions, Watkins, who accounted for 303 yards of offense, gave them hope.

McAllister took it away.

“I have a lot of confidence in our defense,” Gallagher said. “When the game’s coming close, I’m like, ‘We’re going to have to make a play.’ I have a lot of confidence in our kids. We do our best to coach them up and I think our kids love that part of it.”

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